Non Pre-Approved Channel Filtering for Card Acquisition

ABSTRACT

Information can be shared across a pre-approved (PA) channel and a non pre-approved (NPA) channel to reduce unnecessary offers of a transactional instrument or transactional instrument upgrade to prospects. All prospects listed in the NPA channel that have been evaluated in the PA channel may be removed from a NPA offeree list. This may be done by matching the NPA prospect list with a list of prospects who have been evaluated in the PA channel. The list of prospects evaluated in the PA channel may include, for example, prospects who were pre-approved for an offer as well as prospects who were considered for a pre-approved offer but who were denied the offer. Prospects in the NPA channel that are removed from the NPA offer list may be dropped from further NPA processing, as such prospects are either unprofitable or do not meet a transactional account company&#39;s standards for credit.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to providing an offer to a consumer, andmore particularly, to selecting a consumer to be provided the offer.

2. Background Art

Issuers in a transactional account industry acquire new customerspredominantly through two different channels: a pre-approved (PA)channel and a non pre-approved (NPA) channel. Traditionally, prospectssolicited through the PA channel are removed from the NPA channel.Treating these two groups separately can reduce the marketing cost byreducing redundant, unintended solicitations. That is, if the prospecthas already received a PA offer, there is no need to send the prospect alater, NPA offer. However, even this technique can still result in asignificant number of unnecessary offers.

What is needed is a system and method for further reducing the numbersof unnecessary transactional instrument offers to prospects.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Information can be shared across a PA channel and a NPA channel toreduce unnecessary offers to prospects. All prospects listed in the NPAchannel that have been evaluated in the PA channel may be removed from aNPA offeree list. This may be done by matching the NPA prospect listwith a list of prospects who have been evaluated in the PA channel. Thelist of prospects who have been evaluated in the PA channel may include,for example, prospects who were pre-approved for an offer as well asprospects who were considered for a pre-approved offer but who weredenied the offer. Prospects in the NPA channel that are removed from theNPA offer list may be dropped from further NPA processing, as suchprospects are either unprofitable or do not meet a transactional accountcompany's standards for credit.

Further embodiments, features, and advantages of the present invention,as well as the structure and operation of the various embodiments of thepresent invention, are described in detail below with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS/FIGURES

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a partof the specification, illustrate the present invention and, togetherwith the description, further serve to explain the principles of theinvention and to enable a person skilled in the pertinent art to makeand use the invention.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary method of and system for generatinga NPA contact list according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an exemplary method of and system for generatinga PA contact list according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer system useful forimplementing the present invention.

The present invention will be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings. The drawing in which an element first appears istypically indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the correspondingreference number.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview

While specific configurations and arrangements are discussed, it shouldbe understood that this is done for illustrative purposes only. A personskilled in the pertinent art will recognize that other configurationsand arrangements can be used without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention. It will be apparent to a person skilled in thepertinent art that this invention can also be employed in a variety ofother applications.

The terms “prospect,” “consumer,” “customer,” and/or the plural form ofthese terms may be used interchangeably throughout herein to refer tothose persons or entities capable of accessing, using, being affected byand/or benefiting from the tool that the present invention provides forgenerating a contact list for non pre-approved offerees.

Furthermore, the terms “business” or “merchant” may be usedinterchangeably with each other and shall mean any person, entity,distributor system, software and/or hardware that is a provider, brokerand/or any other entity in the distribution chain of goods or services.For example, a merchant may be a grocery store, a retail store, a travelagency, a service provider, an on-line merchant or the like.

1. Transaction Accounts and Instrument

A “transaction account” as used herein refers to an account associatedwith an open account or a closed account system (as described below).The transaction account may exist in a physical or non-physicalembodiment. For example, a transaction account may be distributed innon-physical embodiments such as an account number, frequent-flyeraccount, telephone calling account or the like. Furthermore, a physicalembodiment of a transaction account may be distributed as a financialinstrument.

A financial transaction instrument may be traditional plastictransaction cards, titanium-containing, or other metal-containing,transaction cards, clear and/or translucent transaction cards, foldableor otherwise unconventionally-sized transaction cards, radio-frequencyenabled transaction cards, or other types of transaction cards, such ascredit, charge, debit, pre-paid or stored-value cards, or any other likefinancial transaction instrument. A financial transaction instrument mayalso have electronic functionality provided by a network of electroniccircuitry that is printed or otherwise incorporated onto or within thetransaction instrument (and typically referred to as a “smart card”), orbe a fob having a transponder and an RFID reader.

2. Open Versus Closed Cards

“Open cards” are financial transaction cards that are generally acceptedat different merchants. Examples of open cards include the AmericanExpress®, Visa®, MasterCard® and Discover® cards, which may be used atmany different retailers and other businesses. In contrast, “closedcards” are financial transaction cards that may be restricted to use ina particular store, a particular chain of stores or a collection ofaffiliated stores. One example of a closed card is a pre-paid gift cardthat may only be purchased at, and only be accepted at, a clothingretailer, such as The Gap® store.

3. Stored Value Cards

Stored value cards are forms of transaction instruments associated withtransaction accounts, wherein the stored value cards provide cashequivalent value that may be used within an existing payment/transactioninfrastructure. Stored value cards are frequently referred to as gift,pre-paid or cash cards, in that money is deposited in the accountassociated with the card before use of the card is allowed. For example,if a customer deposits ten dollars of value into the account associatedwith the stored value card, the card may only be used for paymentstogether totaling no more than ten dollars.

4. Use of Transaction Accounts

With regard to use of a transaction account, users may communicate withmerchants in person (e.g., at the box office), telephonically, orelectronically (e.g., from a user computer via the Internet). During theinteraction, the merchant may offer goods and/or services to the user.

The merchant may also offer the user the option of paying for the goodsand/or services using any number of available transaction accounts.Furthermore, the transaction accounts may be used by the merchant as aform of identification of the user. The merchant may have a computingunit implemented in the form of a computer-server, although otherimplementations are possible.

In general, transaction accounts may be used for transactions betweenthe user and merchant through any suitable communication means, such as,for example, a telephone network, intranet, the global, public Internet,a point of interaction device (e.g., a point of sale (POS) device,personal digital assistant (PDA), mobile telephone, kiosk, etc.), onlinecommunications, off-line communications, wireless communications, and/orthe like.

Persons skilled in the relevant arts will understand the breadth of theterms used herein and that the exemplary descriptions provided are notintended to be limiting of the generally understood meanings attributedto the foregoing terms.

It is noted that references in the specification to “one embodiment”,“an embodiment”, “an example embodiment”, etc., indicate that theembodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include theparticular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrasesare not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with an embodiment, it would be within the knowledge of oneskilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristicin connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitlydescribed.

II. NPA Filtering

Transactional account companies invite prospects to open a new accountwith the transactional account company primarily through two differentchannels: a pre-approved (PA) offer channel and a non pre-approved (NPA)offer channel. A PA offer, as the term is used herein, refers to anoffer for a new transactional instrument or an upgrade to an existingtransactional instrument that is sent to a prospect who has beenevaluated according to at least one criteria set out by thetransactional account company. Qualifications such as credit-worthinessand profitability (e.g., whether a prospect fails to pay their billseach month, whether the prospect is revolving and carries over debtearning a transactional account company interest, etc.) are consideredwhen evaluating a prospect in the PA channel. Because the PA prospecthas already been evaluated, a response to a PA offer is typicallyaccepted by the transactional account company.

A NPA offer, as the term is used herein, refers to an offer for a newtransactional instrument or an upgrade to an existing transactionalinstrument that is sent to a prospect with little or no evaluation ofthe prospect's credit history. Because the NPA prospect has not yet beenevaluated, there is no guarantee that a response to the NPA offer willbe approved.

Once a PA prospect has been contacted, the PA prospect may be removedfrom a list of prospects in the NPA channel. This is because the PAprospect has already been contacted with an offer and it would beredundant to market a NPA offer to the PA prospect. Redundant marketingincreases costs of the transactional account company, and may result inconfusion and/or annoyance to the PA prospect.

Prospects who are not approved (and thus denied) during the PA processare typically not contacted with PA offers. Traditionally, theseprospects would be put back into the pool of prospects who may beconsidered for a NPA offer. However, according to an embodiment of thepresent invention, prospects who are not approved during the PA processare also removed from the NPA process. As the prospect has already beenfound to fail the approval criteria used in the PA channel, it may beassumed that the prospect would also fail the same or similar approvalcriteria used to evaluate NPA applications, and that there is no need tosend an offer to such a prospect.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary method of and system for generatinga contact list according to an embodiment of the present invention.Information about potential prospects is obtained from bureau creditbase 102. Bureau credit base 102 may be, for example, a database ofindividuals and/or businesses having credit bureau history. Bureaucredit base 102 may be maintained by, for example, Experian InformationSolutions of Costa Mesa, Calif. Prospects may be added to bureau creditbase 102 by, for example and without limitation, opening a transactionalaccount, applying for a loan, etc.

At 104, individuals who have opted out of credit evaluations under theFederal Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) are removed from bureau credit base102 to produce marketable consumers list 106. Marketable consumers list106 includes all individuals having credit bureau history who have notopted-out of credit evaluations under the FCRA. In a first embodiment,marketable consumers list 106 is provided to the transactional accountcompany. In a second embodiment, marketable consumers list 106 isprovided to a third party acting as a proxy for the transactionalaccount company. The third party may be a data collection company suchas, for example, Acxiom Corporation of Little Rock, Ark. Marketableconsumers list 106 includes all prospects that have been processedthrough the PA channel.

To further clarify, an exemplary method of and system for processingprospects through the PA channel is illustrated in FIG. 2. Atransactional account company 202 provides at least one criteria to acredit bureau 204. In an embodiment, the criteria is provided directlyto credit bureau 204. In another embodiment, the criteria is providedthrough a third party 206, such as Acxiom Corporation.

Credit bureau 204 then filters through its database of prospects whohave not opted out of credit evaluations (such as marketable consumerslist 106 of FIG. 1) and returns a list of eligible prospects 208 whomeet the provided criteria. Such criteria may include, for example andwithout limitation, a minimum FICO (Fair Issac Corporation) score(produced by Fair Isaac Corporation of Minneapolis, Minn.) or a minimumnumber of months since the prospect filed for bankruptcy. Prospects whomeet the criteria and who are included in list of eligible prospects 208may be considered “credit qualified.”

In an embodiment, transactional account company 202 or third party 206may accept list of eligible prospects 208 as the prospects who shouldreceive a PA offer. In another embodiment, transactional account company202 or third party 206 may perform an additional filter on list ofeligible prospects 208 to produce a list of PA prospects 210. Theadditional filter may include, for example and without limitation,whether the prospect is enough of a revolver (e.g., the prospect carriesover debt each month, earning the transactional account companyinterest) to be profitable to transactional account company 202.Although a prospect may be “credit qualified,” the prospect may also beconsidered “unprofitable.” Prospects determined to be unprofitable, forexample, are denied a PA offer and removed from list of PA prospects210. List of PA prospects 210 thus includes only those prospects whoqualify for a PA offer.

If the filter was performed by third party 206, list of PA prospects 210is provided to transactional account company 202.

Once transactional account company 202 has received list of PA prospects210, transactional account company 202 may market PA offers to prospectson list of PA prospects 210.

As can be seen from FIG. 2, all prospects listed in marketable consumerslist 106 are evaluated during the PA process. Some prospects may failthe initial filter as they are not credit-worthy; other prospects mayfail the second filter as they are not profitable. These prospects aredenied a PA offer. Therefore, there is no reason to later send them aNPA offer, as an application in response to such an offer wouldultimately be rejected for the same or a similar reason the prospect wasdenied the PA offer. Additionally, making NPA offers to prospects whoreceived a PA offer is redundant.

For this reason, any prospect evaluated during the PA process of FIG. 2does not need to be reevaluated during the NPA process of FIG. 1.

Returning to FIG. 1, at 108 the list of prospects in marketableconsumers list 106 is compared to (matched with) an initial NPA offereelist 110. Initial NPA offeree list 110 is a compilation of names,addresses, and/or other attributes from one or more vendor lists 112.Vendor lists 112 are obtained from various vendors and/or publiclyavailable sources. For example, vendor lists 112 may be obtained, inwhole or in part, from the InfoBase® database maintained by AcxiomCorporation. InfoBase® is a database of United States consumer andtelephone data. One of skill in the art will recognize that other typesof databases from other sources may also be included in vendor lists 112and used to populate initial NPA offeree list 110. Because initial NPAofferee list 110 is not tied only to credit bureau information,prospects in initial NPA offeree list 110 are not necessarily includedin bureau credit base 102 or marketable consumers list 106. Initial NPAofferee list 110 may include consumers who have credit bureau history,consumers who have no credit bureau history, and consumers who haveopted out of credit bureau reporting under the FRCA. Initial NPA offereelist 110 may be maintained in a database, for example, by thetransactional account company (such as transactional account company 202of FIG. 2) or a third party (such as third party 206 of FIG. 2).

During comparing (matching) 108, prospects in initial NPA offeree list110 who are matched with prospects in marketable consumers list 106 areflagged as PA validated prospects 114. PA validated prospects 114 may bematched based on, for example and without limitation, name and/oraddress. PA validated prospects 114 are removed from initial NPA offereelist 110, and no further action is taken with respect to PA validatedprospects 114.

The remainder of prospects in initial NPA offeree list 110, who did notmatch prospects in marketable consumers list 106, are placed in a finalofferee list 116. Final offeree list 116 therefore includes, for exampleand without limitation, those prospects who have opted out of creditevaluations by the credit bureau under the FCRA, as well as thoseprospects who do not have any credit history and were thus notidentified by the credit bureau. Prospects who do not have any credithistory include, for example and without limitation, individuals whohave recently turned 18 and individuals who have recently moved into thecountry.

At 118, prospects in final offeree list 116 are processed through astandard NPA process. A standard NPA process is well known to those ofskill in the pertinent art, and is thus not further described herein. Asa result of process 118, NPA solicitations 120 are sent to the prospectsincluded in final offeree list 116.

In this manner as shown in FIG. 1, NPA offers may be sent only to thoseindividuals who were not previously evaluated by the transactionalaccount company for PA offers. This reduces redundant and/or unnecessaryoffers that would otherwise result from sending NPA offers to PAofferees, as well as from sending NPA offers to non credit-worthy and/ornon-profitable prospects.

III. Example Implementations

The embodiments as described in FIGS. 1 and 2, or any part(s) orfunction(s) thereof, may be implemented using hardware, software or acombination thereof and may be implemented in one or more computersystems or other processing systems. However, the manipulationsperformed by the present invention were often referred to in terms, suchas adding or comparing, which are commonly associated with mentaloperations performed by a human operator. No such capability of a humanoperator is necessary, or desirable in most cases, in any of theoperations described herein which form part of the present invention.Rather, the operations are machine operations. Useful machines forperforming the operation of the present invention include generalpurpose digital computers or similar devices.

In fact, in one embodiment, the invention is directed toward one or morecomputer systems capable of carrying out the functionality describedherein. An example of a computer system 300 is shown in FIG. 3.

The computer system 300 includes one or more processors, such asprocessor 304. The processor 304 is connected to a communicationinfrastructure 306 (e.g., a communications bus, cross-over bar, ornetwork). Various software embodiments are described in terms of thisexemplary computer system. After reading this description, it willbecome apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art(s) how toimplement the invention using other computer systems and/orarchitectures.

Computer system 300 can include a display interface 302 that forwardsgraphics, text, and other data from the communication infrastructure 306(or from a frame buffer not shown) for display on the display unit 330.

Computer system 300 also includes a main memory 308, preferably randomaccess memory (RAM), and may also include a secondary memory 310. Thesecondary memory 310 may include, for example, a hard disk drive 312and/or a removable storage drive 314, representing a floppy disk drive,a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, etc. The removable storagedrive 314 reads from and/or writes to a removable storage unit 318 in awell known manner. Removable storage unit 318 represents a floppy disk,magnetic tape, optical disk, etc. which is read by and written to byremovable storage drive 314. As will be appreciated, the removablestorage unit 318 includes a computer usable storage medium having storedtherein computer software and/or data.

In alternative embodiments, secondary memory 310 may include othersimilar devices for allowing computer programs or other instructions tobe loaded into computer system 300. Such devices may include, forexample, a removable storage unit 322 and an interface 320. Examples ofsuch may include a program cartridge and cartridge interface (such asthat found in video game devices), a removable memory chip (such as anerasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), or programmable readonly memory (PROM)) and associated socket, and other removable storageunits 322 and interfaces 320, which allow software and data to betransferred from the removable storage unit 322 to computer system 300.

Computer system 300 may also include a communications interface 324.

Communications interface 324 allows software and data to be transferredbetween computer system 300 and external devices. Examples ofcommunications interface 324 may include a modem, a network interface(such as an Ethernet card), a communications port, a Personal ComputerMemory Card International Association (PCMCIA) slot and card, etc.Software and data transferred via communications interface 324 are inthe form of signals 328 which may be electronic, electromagnetic,optical or other signals capable of being received by communicationsinterface 324. These signals 328 are provided to communicationsinterface 324 via a communications path (e.g., channel) 326. Thischannel 326 carries signals 328 and may be implemented using wire orcable, fiber optics, a telephone line, a cellular link, a radiofrequency (RF) link and other communications channels.

In this document, the terms “computer program medium” and “computerusable medium” are used to generally refer to media such as removablestorage drive 314 and a hard disk installed in hard disk drive 312.These computer program products provide software to computer system 300.The invention may be directed to such computer program products.

Computer programs (also referred to as computer control logic) arestored in main memory 308 and/or secondary memory 310. Computer programsmay also be received via communications interface 324. Such computerprograms, when executed, enable the computer system 300 to perform thefeatures of the present invention, as discussed herein. In particular,the computer programs, when executed, enable the processor 304 toperform the features of the present invention. Accordingly, suchcomputer programs represent controllers of the computer system 300.

In an embodiment where the invention is implemented using software, thesoftware may be stored in a computer program product and loaded intocomputer system 300 using removable storage drive 314, hard drive 312 orcommunications interface 324. The control logic (software), whenexecuted by the processor 304, causes the processor 304 to perform thefunctions of the invention as described herein.

In another embodiment, the invention is implemented primarily inhardware using, for example, hardware components such as applicationspecific integrated circuits (ASICs). Implementation of the hardwarestate machine so as to perform the functions described herein will beapparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s).

In yet another embodiment, the invention is implemented using acombination of both hardware and software.

IV. Conclusion

While various embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it should be understood that they have been presented by way ofexample, and not limitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled inthe relevant art(s) that various changes in form and detail can be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. Thus, the present invention should not be limited by any ofthe above described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only inaccordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

In addition, it should be understood that the figures and screen shotsillustrated in the attachments, which highlight the functionality andadvantages of the present invention, are presented for example purposesonly. The architecture of the present invention is sufficiently flexibleand configurable, such that it may be utilized (and navigated) in waysother than that shown in the accompanying figures.

Further, the purpose of the foregoing Abstract is to enable the U.S.Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially thescientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiarwith patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from acursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure ofthe application. The Abstract is not intended to be limiting as to thescope of the present invention in any way.

1. A method of generating a contact list for non-pre-approved offerees,comprising: compiling an initial offeree list; receiving a marketableconsumers list, wherein the marketable consumers list identifiesconsumers who have been evaluated through a pre-approval process;matching a consumer on the initial offeree list with a consumer on themarketable consumers list; and removing the matched consumer from theinitial offeree list to create a final offeree list.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the marketable consumers list includes consumers whopreviously received a pre-approved offer and consumers who werepreviously denied a pre-approved offer.
 3. The method of claim 2,wherein the consumers who were denied the pre-approved offer includeconsumers who did not meet initial credit criteria specified by anofferor.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the consumers who were deniedthe pre-approved offer include consumers who met initial credit criteriaspecified by an offeror but who were not extended an offer for credit.5. The method of claim 1, wherein the compiling step comprises:identifying consumers having credit history, consumers having no credithistory, and consumers who have opted out of credit bureau reporting;and listing the identified consumers in the initial offeree list.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the receiving step comprises receiving a listcontaining all consumers having credit bureau history except consumerswho have opted out of sharing their information.
 7. The method of claim1, wherein the matching step comprises matching a consumer name on theinitial offeree list with a consumer name on the marketable consumerslist.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the matching step comprisesmatching a consumer address on the initial offeree list with a consumeraddress on the marketable consumers list.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein the removing step comprises removing all consumers from theinitial offeree list except consumers having no credit history andconsumers who have opted out of credit bureau reporting.
 10. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: sending a non-pre-approved offer to eachconsumer on the final offeree list.
 11. A system for generating acontact list for non-pre-approved offerees, comprising: a processor; anda memory in communication with the processor, the memory storing aplurality of processing instructions for directing the processor to:compile an initial offeree list; receive a marketable consumers list,wherein the marketable names list identifies consumers who have beenevaluated through a pre-approval process; match a consumer on theinitial offeree list with a consumer on the marketable consumers list;and remove the matched consumer from the initial offeree list to createa final offeree list.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the marketableconsumers list includes consumers who previously received a pre-approvedoffer and consumers who were previously denied a pre-approved offer. 13.The system of claim 12, wherein the consumers who were denied thepre-approved offer include consumers who did not meet initial creditcriteria specified by an offeror.
 14. The system of claim 12, whereinthe consumers who were denied the pre-approved offer include consumerswho met initial credit criteria specified by an offeror but who were notextended an offer for credit.
 15. The system of claim 11, wherein theinstructions for directing the processor to compile compriseinstructions for directing the processor to: identify consumers havingcredit history, consumers having no credit history, and consumers whohave opted out of credit bureau reporting; and list the identifiedconsumers in the initial offeree list.
 16. The system of claim 11,wherein the instructions for directing the processor to receive compriseinstructions for directing the processor to receive a list containingall consumers having credit bureau history except consumers who haveopted out of sharing their information.
 17. The system of claim 11,wherein the instructions for directing the processor to match compriseinstructions for directing the processor to match a consumer name on theinitial offeree list with a consumer name on the marketable consumerslist.
 18. The system of claim 11, wherein the instructions for directingthe processor to match comprise instructions for directing the processorto match a consumer address on the initial offeree list with a consumeraddress on the marketable consumers list.
 19. The system of claim 11,wherein the instructions for directing the processor to remove compriseinstructions for directing the processor to remove all consumers fromthe initial offeree list except consumers having no credit history andconsumers who have opted out of credit bureau reporting.
 20. The systemof claim 11, further comprising instructions for directing the processorto: send a non-pre-approved offer to each consumer on the final offereelist.